GLOBAL FUND’S COMMUNITY, RIGHTS AND GENDER STRATEGIC INITIATIVE HELPS CIVIL SOCIETY AND COMMUNITIES TO ENGAGE MEANINGFULLY
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Download PDF The Community, Rights and Gender (CRG) Strategic Initiative of the Global Fund, which is a $15 million catalytic investment, has bolstered the engagement of civil society and communities in in-country Global Fund processes across the three diseases. This is according to an independent external evaluation of the Strategic Initiative for the period between March 2017 and April 2020, which was…
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The Strategic Initiative achieves more than predecessor with same funding envelope
ABSTRACT An external evaluation of the Community, Rights and Gender (CRG) Strategic Initiative of the Global Fund has shown that the initiative has bolstered the engagement of civil society and communities in in-country Global Fund processes across the three diseases. The Strategic Initiative has made more gains with the same funding envelope of $15 million than its predecessor, the CRG Special Initiative, which ran from 2014 to 2016.
The Community, Rights and Gender (CRG) Strategic Initiative of the Global Fund, which is a $15 million catalytic investment, has bolstered the engagement of civil society and communities in in-country Global Fund processes across the three diseases. This is according to an independent external evaluation of the Strategic Initiative for the period between March 2017 and April 2020, which was commissioned by the CRG Department of the Global Fund. The evaluation aimed to assess the return on investment of Phase 2 (2017–2019) of the CRG Strategic Initiative and to make recommendations for Phase 3 (2020–2022).
The Global Fund created the CRG Strategic Initiative to ensure that civil society and communities engage meaningfully in in-country Global Fund processes. The Strategic Initiative is organized into three distinct components: short-term peer-to-peer technical assistance (aimed at reducing knowledge and information gaps among the community actors); long-term capacity strengthening of key and vulnerable population networks and organizations; and six regional communication and coordination platforms.
The evaluation, which took place between February and April 2020, found that the Strategic Initiative had performed better than its predecessor, the CRG Special Initiative, which ran from 2014 to 2016. The Strategic Initiative had made more gains with a similar amount of funding; for instance, the Strategic Initiative supported 159 requests for technical assistancein 69 countries (compared to 65 requests in 24 countries under the Special Initiative), and supported 14 community networks for the three diseases (compared to eight, which were all HIV-related). Technical assistance, which involves the sharing of information and expertise, now covers all phases of the grant cycle, including implementation and oversight, unlike before when it focused on the grant application process only.
The evaluation identified gaps and opportunities in the Strategic Initiative, which it sums up in 35 recommendations for Phase 3 (2020–2022).
For more information, read the full report.
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